# Google adds more links to AI Mode and AI Overviews: what changes for your site

> Since October 15, 2026 Google's AI answers show more inline links, highlighted official pages and article carousels. Which pages to prepare, how to measure clicks.

URL: https://geosnap.ai/en/blog/google-piu-link-ai-mode-ai-overviews-cosa-cambia-per-il-tuo-sito
Language: English
Version IT: https://geosnap.ai/blog/google-piu-link-ai-mode-ai-overviews-cosa-cambia-per-il-tuo-sito
Author: Rinald Sefa, CMO Geosnap · Category: GEO strategy
Publisher: Geosnap (Maind Group S.r.l.), https://geosnap.ai

## In short

On October 15, 2026 Google announced more inline links in AI Mode and AI Overviews, a test section for the official pages of a task, carousels of recent articles in more countries, and thumbnails on related links. For a brand it means a citation can become a click again, if there are clear pages for pricing, sign-up, trial, support and refunds. Google published no rollout dates by country and no click data: prepare the pages now and measure with answer monitoring and landing pages in Analytics.

- Google increased the links inside the text of AI Mode and AI Overviews answers and shows them higher up in the response more often.
- A section at the top of the answer is being tested to highlight the one or two official pages for completing a task, with a line of context.
- In a first test on seven task questions the section never appeared, but 13 of 27 links led to the company's site and 9 to the homepage.
- Search Console still does not separate clicks from AI answers: to measure the effect you need answer monitoring and landing-page data in Analytics.
- The pages to prepare are task pages: pricing, trial, login, support, refunds, each with its own URL and an explicit title.

Written by the Geosnap AI agent, reviewed and approved by Rinald Sefa.

Translated from the Italian original. [Read the original](https://geosnap.ai/blog/google-piu-link-ai-mode-ai-overviews-cosa-cambia-per-il-tuo-sito)

On October 15, 2026 Google announced that AI Mode and AI Overviews will show more links, higher up and with more context: links inside the text of the answer, a dedicated section for the "official" page to complete a task, carousels of recent articles in more countries and languages, and thumbnails on the links at the end of a response. For a brand this changes one specific thing: showing up in Google's AI answers is no longer only a citation, it becomes a chance for a click again. Provided you have the right pages. Here is what changed, what is still unclear, and which pages to prepare.

## What did Google change in AI Mode and AI Overviews?

Five things, all pointing the same way: making the links inside answers more visible and easier to click. Hema Budaraju, VP of Product Management, describes them in the official post [More ways to connect with the web from Search](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/updates-ai-mode-overviews-explore-web/):

1. **More links in the text.** Google reports "continued and substantial increases" in inline links, the links embedded in words or phrases of the answer, plus updates that show them higher up in responses more often.
2. **A section for the "right" page.** When there are only one or two official places on the web to complete a task (a refund request, a sign-up, a form), Google is testing a section at the top of the response that highlights those links, with a line explaining why each one is useful.
3. **Carousels of timely articles.** The article carousels already shown in some answers are rolling out to additional locations and languages. They also highlight the user's Preferred Sources, a feature Google says is now used by more than 7 times as many people as at the start of the year.
4. **Related links with thumbnails.** The links at the end of some responses get image thumbnails and a "more clickable design".
5. **Clickable creator names.** On video results in AI Mode, Google is testing clickable creator and publisher names that link to their Search profiles.

The post does not say when each change reaches individual countries, on which devices, or how Google decides which pages count as "official". It also publishes no click data: no percentage, no before-and-after comparison.

## Why this update matters for GEO

Because it changes what a citation is worth. Until now Google's AI answers tended to keep people inside the response: sources sat in a side column or in a panel you had to open, and the studies on falling clicks measured the effect (we covered them in [AI Overviews and clicks: how much traffic do you lose?](https://geosnap.ai/en/blog/ai-overviews-clic-cosa-dicono-studi-2026)). A link in the text, at the exact point where the answer mentions your product, is different: it is an invitation to leave the answer and come to you.

That does not mean clicks will return to classic-search levels. Barry Schwartz, writing on [Search Engine Land](https://searchengineland.com/google-updates-ai-mode-and-ai-overview-with-more-links-context-carousels-and-information-on-creators-496242), says plainly that he is not sure people will click, and points out that Google Search Console still does not separate clicks from AI answers from clicks on classic results. Until that data exists, you can only measure the effect indirectly, through landing pages and by monitoring the answers themselves.

One detail is easy to misread: the clickable creator names lead to the creator's Search profile on Google, not to the creator's website. That is visibility for the name, not traffic for the site.

## Which links does AI Mode actually show today? A first test

Early tests show the links are there, but they do not always lead to the most useful page. On October 16 Maeva Cifuentes, on [The Search Spot](https://thesearchspot.substack.com/p/google-adds-more-links-to-ai-mode), ran seven task-style questions about business software (how to start a free trial, where to log in, how to set up a feature) in AI Mode, with a single US account and one run per question. The results:

| What was measured | Result |
| --- | --- |
| "Official page" section at the top of the answer | 0 answers out of 7 |
| Inline links in total | 27 |
| Links to the site of the company being discussed | 13 of 27 |
| Links that opened the homepage | 9 of 27 |
| Help page only in the source chips, not in the text | 3 answers out of 7 |

Some links went to the wrong page: a link on "login page" opened an analytics subdomain, one on the app opened its App Store listing, one on "application" opened the careers page. The free-trial question did better: three of four links led to trial, demo or access pages.

The sample is small, as the author notes, and results may vary by country and personalization. But it points to two useful facts: AI Mode often turns a brand or product name into a link, and when it cannot find a clear page for the requested action it sends people to the homepage. Both depend on you.

## Which pages to prepare to receive these links

Pages that answer a concrete action, with a stable URL and a title that says what you do there. If you run a company website, check these four areas:

- **Task pages.** Pricing, sign-up, free trial, login, support, returns, refunds, booking. Each needs its own URL, an explicit title ("Request a refund", not "Support") and a first sentence that says what you can do there. These are the natural candidates for the "official page" section and for inline links.
- **Homepage.** In the test it received one link in three. It must say in two lines what you do and send people straight to the task pages: if someone arrives from an answer about your free trial and finds a generic homepage, you have wasted the click.
- **Help pages.** The how-to guides in your help center are already cited, but often only in the source chips. One guide per task, with a title that mirrors the user's question, has a better chance of ending up in the text.
- **Articles with a date and an image.** The carousels show recent articles and the related links will carry thumbnails. An article with no visible date and no opening image starts at a disadvantage. If you publish industry news, this is the part of your site where you will see the effect first.

Eligibility follows the rules of Search: the page must be indexed, crawlable, with snippets allowed. We explained this in [Google AI Mode: where it gets its sources and how to be cited](https://geosnap.ai/en/blog/google-ai-mode-fonti-come-farsi-citare), and that has not changed.

## How to tell whether the new links bring you visits

You need to cross two readings: where you appear in the answers, and what happens on the landing pages. Search Console tells you a page received clicks from Google, not whether they came from an AI answer. So:

1. Keep a list of the task questions about your product or service and check regularly which answers you appear in, with which link, pointing to which page. Geosnap runs this monitoring on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode, and also flags when the link points to the wrong page.
2. In Google Analytics, look at the task pages (pricing, trial, support) as landing pages with Google organic as the source, and compare them with the weeks before October 15.
3. Write the date of the update into your reports: in a few weeks you will need it to separate the effect of the new links from seasonality.

One last warning: Google gave no rollout dates by country, and outside the US you may see some of these changes weeks later. Preparing the pages now costs little; doing it once the links are already live means losing the first clicks.

## Sources

- [More ways to connect with the web from Search](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/updates-ai-mode-overviews-explore-web/) (Google, 2026-10-15)
- [Google updates AI Mode and AI Overview with more links, context, carousels, and information on creators](https://searchengineland.com/google-updates-ai-mode-and-ai-overview-with-more-links-context-carousels-and-information-on-creators-496242) (Search Engine Land, 2026-10-15)
- [Google adds more links to AI Mode and AI Overviews (October 15, 2026)](https://thesearchspot.substack.com/p/google-adds-more-links-to-ai-mode) (The Search Spot, 2026-10-16)

## Frequently asked questions

### What are inline links in Google's AI answers?

They are links placed directly inside a word or phrase of the answer, rather than in a side column or a sources panel. In its October 15, 2026 post Google says it has substantially increased their presence and shows them higher up in AI Mode and AI Overviews responses more often.

### Is the official-pages section already live outside the US?

Google describes it as a test and gives no countries, languages or dates. In The Search Spot's test on October 16, run in the US on seven task questions, it did not appear in any answer. It is worth preparing the pages now rather than waiting to see it.

### Can I see clicks from AI answers in Search Console?

No. Search Console counts clicks from AI Mode and AI Overviews together with clicks on classic results, with no separate report. To understand the effect you need to monitor which answers you appear in and where the link points, and read your task pages as landing pages in Google Analytics.

### Do clickable creator names bring traffic to my site?

No. In Google's test, creator and publisher names on video results in AI Mode link to the creator's Search profile on Google, not to the creator's website. It helps name recognition; it is not a source of visits.

### Which pages are most likely to receive an inline link?

Pages that match a specific action: pricing, sign-up, free trial, login, support, refunds, booking. They need a stable URL, a title that says what you do there and a clear first sentence. When such a page is missing, AI Mode tends to send people to the homepage.